# McClelland Honeydew



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Let me preface my review by being upfront and honest, I love McClelland tobaccos. I have smoked several of their blends and I've yet to find one I don't like. Whether you smoke an English like the Frog Morton series, the Grand Orientals series, a VA like the Honeydew, or an aro, they all are pretty distinctive, you won't mistake a McClelland tobacco for something else. They all seem to have a slight aromatic quality so they would be a good transition tobacco for an aro smoker who wants to try a Balkan, English style blend, or VA/VaPer, and they are great for someone like me who likes a good aro as well as pretty much every other style.

As for the Honeydew specifically, you know you are in for a treat upon opening the tin. It definitely has the tobacco and sweet grass or hay-like aroma of any other VA tobacco. However, there is something else there. You can smell a sweetness from the casing, it is a little reminiscent of the namesake of the tobacco (definitely a fruity or even melon smell, though it takes a little imagination to smell honeydew) and perhaps a little honeysuckle as well. It is a very attractive broken flake with light and medium/chocolate brown coloring.

The flavor is terrific and it is becoming one of my favorite VA tobaccos. I have only smoked it outdoors or in my car (and the smell does not linger long in the car) so it is hard to comment on the room note, but I suspect that the casings make for a pleasant smelling tobacco _for a VA_. The flavor is definitely a treat. It is a VA and has the sweet bright flavor of good VA tobacco, but there is a little more from the casing. It isn't as sweet or as fruity as the smell, and it definitely isn't melon, but there is a little honeysuckle flavor in the smoke.

On the negative side, it is a wet tobacco. Even out of some very good pipes (my handmade Kaywoodies, a Ser Jacopo, and some cobs) which never see gurgling with other tobaccos, it can gurgle for the first 1/3 to 1/2 of a bowl. Even with a few hours drying time, it is still a wet tobacco. Definitely smoke with some pipe cleaners on hand. Also, it is a VA tobacco. While it doesn't bite particularly hard for a VA, like all VA tobaccos, it can bite if you aren't careful.

Overall, after a little less than half the tin, I love this tobacco. The flavor more than makes up for the few shortcomings. As a teacher, using the familar A-F grading scale, the potential for gurgling keeps it from earning an A, but it is a solid B performer.


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

Absolutely fantastic review!


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## Tobias Lutz (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks for the review. One of my all time favorites is Dan Sweet Vanilla Honeydew, so whenever I see the word "honeydew" in a tobacco name or description I get excited :biggrin:


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## BigG (Aug 13, 2010)

Nice review - thanks.
McClelland Honeydew is, in my experience, another one of the many fine VA's they make. I personally don't consider it an aromatic, but a lightly cased sweet Virginia blend. I'm hoping to always have a tin stashed away in my humble cellar.


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## DanR (Nov 27, 2010)

I was extolling the virtues of this fabulous blend the other day. One of my favorites. Great review!


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